Arendelle & Co
by AliyahRosie
Summary: Elsa is less than enthusiastic when Hans Anderson is assigned to be her bodyguard after the murder of her best friend. Who's after Elsa? Will Hans be able to protect her? Will Flynn ever stop laughing at their expense? Modern AU
1. Chapter 1

19-year-old Elsa Arendelle stomped down the glass stairs of her studio harshly, muttering profanities and trying not to falter in her 6-inch Louboutins.

She reached the bottom of the stairs into her shop and buttoned up her wool magenta pea coat angrily, shoving her phone and apartment keys into her pocket.

_Fucking Kristoff. Couldn't tell the difference between taffeta and chiffon._

She left the store keys on the counter, leaving Kristoff to lock up the studio/shop.

Elsa immensely regretted the decision to hook up her younger sister's boyfriend with a job at her pride and joy, Arendelle & co. Kristoff's job wasn't that hard in Elsa's opinion. She paid him to stock the fabrics, answer a few calls at the desk, and make sure Elsa had coffee in her hand.

Elsa was extraordinarily angry because he had screwed up the delicate fabric system in the studio, where Elsa and Rapunzel did most of their work.

Elsa had hired her flatmate, Punzie, to help her design and produce a year ago, considering her family had connections with famous designers and magazines, thus leading to Arendelle and co.'s rise in fame and success lately. She recently had to hire another employee, Merida Dun'Broch, due to the store's gain in popularity. They were even considering opening another store on the other side of the state.

However Rapunzel and Elsa didn't always get along perfectly, their styles varied greatly. Rapunzel was more frilly and girly, while Elsa's was more classic Hollywood glam. They were lucky that their styles could mesh when they needed to.

Elsa felt her phone vibrate through the thick wool of her coat. She pulled it out and grimaced at how late, or rather early, that it was. No one was even out on the streets. The phone call was from her sister, Anna. She answered the call.

"Why are you still up?" She said a bit sharply, her voice echoing through the vacant streets. Anna ignored the question.

"You could be a bit easier on him, y'now..." Anna said tiredly.

"Please," She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't that hard on him."

"He called me crying, Elsa."

"W-whatever. It's a fucking job, I pay him to to do what he's supposed to do, not to dick around."

A sigh came from the other side of the phone. Elsa didn't get a chance to continue her rant, considering a rather large man bumped very harshly into her shoulder. She stumbled back, but the tall man continued to walk on, seemingly unfazed.

"Um, excuse you?!" She yelled to the man who was already halfway down the street.

"Huh?" Anna said, confused.

"Nothing. This fuckwad just, like, plowed me over." There was a pause.

"Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?" Anna sounded hopeful.

Elsa bit her nails. She had a lot of work to do tomorrow, but she didn't want to let her sister down. "Of course. Do you mind if Punzie comes, too? If she's feeling better, that is."

"Even better! Well, I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."

"Night." Elsa could almost hear Anna's head hit the pillow before she hung up.

* * *

Elsa stared in confusion down her hall to her apartment, flat #53. The door was wide open.

_Did Punzie forget to take her medicine? Goddammit I hope we weren't robbed._

She approached the door with caution, now noticing the sound of the shower running. She closed the door after seeing that all of the expensive vases were still in tact. Elsa sighed in relief. No smart burglar would miss those.

"Punzie?" Elsa removed her coat, hanging it on the coat rack. "Are you okay in there?" She figured the blonde would be asleep by now, what with the massive cold she has had these past weeks.

There was no response. Just the sound of the shower running. "Rapunzel...?"

Elsa approached the bathroom door, opening it slightly. She prayed to god that she didn't fall or hurt herself while she was gone.

She opened the door, an unfamiliar feeling filling her gut. Was it... fear?

She could faintly see Rapunzel's silhouette through the white shower curtain, her hands in her hair.

Elsa sighed, putting her hand on her chest.

"Rapunzel, Godammit! That wasn't funny!" She turned to the bathroom mirror, fixing her hair. Still no response from her roommate.

Elsa turned back around and stared at the unmoving silhouette. The feeling filled her stomach once more. All Elsa knew was that one second she was staring in confusion and the next she was ripping the curtain open, her confused eyes becoming filled with horror.

**(A/N: Squeamish people are encouraged to look away from the next paragraph or so.)**

Rapunzel was covered in blood from her neck to her ankles, the water from the shower just barely rinsing off dried blood from her left leg. Her long, blonde hair was slightly bloodstained and tied to the shower rod, giving her the appearance that she was standing. Her hands were weaved in her hair, giving the illusion that she had been washing her hair. Duct tape covered her mouth, a vomit-y substance was dried up under her nose.

Elsa didn't scream. She stared, breathing heavily, bile rising in her throat. This was her best friend, the only one besides Anna who would put up with her difficult ways and frequent mood swings. Her hand which was previously gripping the shower curtain was now covering her mouth. She was dead. Beyond dead. Her throat had been slit, with random stabs between her neck and ankles. She had suffered.

What scared Elsa the most were the words, smudged in blood, behind Rapunzel.

Lucky #53.

Elsa couldn't take the sight anymore. She turned around to the bathroom mirror, panting heavily. She could still see Rapunzel's dead green eyes every time she closed her own. She ran into the living room to get her phone, and with trembling fingers she dialed 911.

* * *

"Please, Miss. We need you to calm down. I've sent police your way." The soothing voice of the dispatch hardly reached over Elsa's sobs as she huddled in the corner. "Please tell me what happened again, calmly."

"I-I, um." Elsa fumbled her words.

"You came home from work..." She begun for Elsa.

"I came home from work, and I heard the shower running," Elsa took deep breaths. "So I went in the bathroom, and opened the shower curtain, and she... she," Elsa couldn't bring herself to say the word dead. Death wasn't for people like Punzie, who had so much potential, so much to give the world. Death was for elderly people, for sick people, for cold and cruel people. Not for people like Rapunzel.

When Elsa heard police sirens she hung up, and walked to the door, opening it the second they arrived at it.

She pointed to the bathroom as two policemen escorted her outside.

"Miss, do you have anyone you can stay with?" The one with the insane mustache asked her.

Elsa nodded yes, not believing how fast her life had changed for the worst.

"Would you like to answer some questions now, or wait until morning?" The other one, with quite a beer gut, asked her as she was led outside the building. There was an abundance of police and what looked like news vans began appearing. Soon flashes and questions were being thrown in her face. The police sat her in a car, it wasn't a police vehicle, it was a very nice, almost vintage-looking car. Most likely it belonged to a detective or crime scene investigator.

"Um, I'll answer now." Elsa just wanted to get everything over with.

The car zoomed off and a million thoughts swirled in Elsa's mind as she pulled her legs up in the back seat.

_Who on Earth would have anything against Punzie? _

As far as Elsa knew, Rapunzel had little to no enemies. She racked her brain, thinking of everything that had ever happened to her roommate, from what Rapunzel had told her.

_She was born in Germany, she was kidnapped as an infant by some crazy lady, and returned to her family in America when she was five, um._

Elsa didn't get a chance to continue her thinking once they arrived at the city's police station.

"Miss, you're going to be interrogated by our top investigator, he is the best one this side of the state!"

* * *

Flynn Rider, so called 'top investigator' was currently throwing a foam ball against the wall, bored and not happy to be at work at almost 4 am. He was upset that the girl had decided to go through questioning now.

He put his blue foam ball back in his drawer and phoned his best friend, Hans.

"What the fuck Flynn? Its 4 am."

"Yeah. I know. I'm still at the station."

"Why?"

"Turn on the news."

Hans got out of his warm bed and did as told, turning on the TV in the living room. The sound of the reporter penetrated his ears.

_18-year-old Rapunzel Corona was found by her roommate, 19-year-old Elsa Arendelle, murdered in her bathroom._

More images of the girls flickered on the screen, as well as footage of who Hans assumed was Elsa being escorted out of her apartment building, looking like a frightened bird.

Hams put the phone back to his ear.

"Yeah, so, I'm going to have to question this girl."

"She looks pretty innocent to me."

"Yeah, that's the thing. According to the information I already have, this is eerily similar to those two previous cases. Remember? Cinderella Tremaine was found murdered in her apartment, and found by her friend Aurora Rose, and the next week, Aurora was murdered. The same thing with Ariel Atlantica. She was found by her best friend Belle, and the next week, Belle was murdered."

Hans sat down, now genuinely interested.

"But here's where I'm positive these cases are connected. They all have something to do with the number 53. Cinderella was murdered on the 53rd day of the year, Ariel was murdered on her father's 53rd birthday, and Rapunzel was murdered in the 53rd apartment."

"Whoa." Hans breathed.

"Yeah. But here's the thing, if I'm right, which I know I am, that means that whoever murdered Rapunzel Corona is going to murder Elsa Arendelle next."

Hans opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Flynn.

"Okay. She's here now. I'll call you tomorrow" He hung up.

Hans fell asleep on he couch, knowing what his next job would probably be, considering he was a highly skilled body guard.

* * *

Once Kristoff Bjorjman, Anna Arendelle, and Merida Dun'Broch were called to the station, Elsa was almost immediately ruled out as the perpetrator.

There were three witnesses who could confirm that the designer was not neat the apartment during the time of the murder. (11:30-12:30) Although it wasn't ruled out that she was a possible accomplice.

"So. Miss Arendelle," Flynn began. "you say that you left the apartment for work at 9:00 am, correct?"

"Yes." Elsa kept eye contact with him, refusing to be intimidated.

"What was Miss Corona doing at the time?"

"She was asleep."

"So you left the door unlocked?" Flynn approached the table where Elsa sat, quirking an eyebrow.

"There's only one set of keys. She asked me the previous night to keep it unlocked so she could go pick up more medicine when she woke up."

"So why didn't you just leave the keys with her?"

"She was sick, constantly sleeping, very heavily might I add. Not to mention I don't come home from work until late, so it would have been impossible to wake her up to unlock the door had she been asleep." There was a pause.

"Did Miss Corona have any enemies, people who disliked her?" Flynn changed the subject completely.

"Not that I know of. She was loved by everyone who met her."

"That's a good opportunity for jealousy." Flynn muttered, jotting down something on his notebook. "Jealousy is a good motive for murder."

Elsa had never thought of that before. There had to be people out there who were jealous of Punzie, she was rich, beautiful, and working for one of the most prestigious and upcoming stores in the fashion world.

_Hell, I'm jealous of Punzie, and its my store!_

Flynn noted her silence and thoughtful expression. He didn't believe Elsa had anything to do with Rapunzel's murder. He just wanted to know every detail, he didn't want to miss a thing.

"Okay. We're almost done."

_Thank God._

"Just tell me one more time the events as you left work last night."

"I yelled at Kristoff for screwing up the fabric organization, I left him to lock up shop, my sister called me, this guy bumped in to me-"

Flynn's head snapped up. This was news. "Someone bumped into you?"

"Yeah, it was this guy, well, it could have been a woman, I don't know. They were the only other one on the streets." Elsa waved her hand in the air, not remembering.

Flynn got close again. "Tell me everything about the person. What were they wearing? How tall were they?" He encouraged her to continue.

"Um, I think they were wearing a trench coat, a really dark grey one." Flynn wrote down everything she said. "They were abut this much taller than me, but I was wearing 6-inch heels." She motioned a few inches above her head. "Their feet made clicking sounds, so it could have been heels or just fancy work shoes. They were wearing a hat, not like a cap, but not like a fedora either." Elsa wracked her brain for every detail. "I didn't get a good look at their face, but they could have been wearing sunglasses, maybe." There was a pause of silence, nothing but the sound of Flynn's pen scribbling.

"Okay. One more thing."

"I thought we were done." Elsa said, exasperated.

"Well, this one concerns your safety." Flynn said a bit sharply, not appreciating the blonde's attitude. "You're going to need a body guard for the time being."

"Excuse me?" Elsa's eyes widened. "What you talking about? I can take care of myself just fine, thanks!"

"Look, Elsa. Rapunzel's murder is quite similar to some other cases-"

"So?" Elsa interrupted him.

"So, here's how the other cases happened: girl gets killed when no one's home, friend/roommate finds her, one week later, friend gets killed."

Elsa stared at him in silence.

"Oh, I forgot the best part." Flynn laughed. "They all have to do with the number 53. The first was killed on the 53rd day of the year, the second one was killed on her father's 53rd birthday, and Rapunzel was killed in apartment 53, and all victims had something to do with the fashion industry."

He sat down across from Elsa, pulling out some papers from a folder.

"Cinderella Tremaine." He showed Elsa her papers. "She was the world's youngest upcoming model. Her late father owned Cinderella Couture, she modeled for the company against her stepfamily's wishes. She was killed earlier this year. Her stepfamily were ruled out as suspects, etc., etc." He pulled out more papers. "Her friend Aurora found her all strung up in her closet, and a week later, Aurora was killed in her own home."

That feeling from earlier filled Elsa's gut again, making her feel very unsafe and uncomfortable.

"The same thing happened with Ariel Atlantica, top designer for her father's company, Atlantica. She was found shoved in a cabinet by her roommate Belle. A week later, Belle was murdered in her hotel room."

There was silence. Elsa wrung her hands together nervously. Flynn stood up.

"We're not going to force you to have a bodyguard, but it's your call."

_Plus Hans needs someone to keep him company. Give him a social life. _Flynn thought.

"Um." Elsa tried to begin. "What does that entail? Exactly?

"Well, until we find whoever killed Rapunzel, you'll be kept under his watch."

"His?"

"Yes. Our top bodyguard, Hans Anderson. He'll keep you safe-"

"I have a business! I can't be kept under house arrest! I'm not going to let my father's business go to shit because I can't be there!" Elsa began to get worked up again.

"Whoa. Whoa. No one would be under house arrest. We could work with your schedule. Whoever we're working with is sneaky and smart, so it's in our best interest to keep you safe, and have someone with you wherever you go."

Elsa breathed heavily, calming down. "Okay." She muttered.

"Great." Flynn began packing up. "I'm afraid we won't be able to appoint you with your guard until morning, so just please stay safe with your family until then. We'll call you in the morning."

"Thank you." Elsa said, regaining her superior aura. She stood up and walked out, her head held high.

Flynn laughed at her sassy composure and called Hans once more.

"Flynn?" Hans sleepy voice questioned.

Flynn grabbed his suitcase and strolled out of the station, thinking about how Hans's and Elsa's personalities would clash. Most likely hilariously.

"Grab your ice skates, buddy. Hell's about to freeze over."


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa didn't sleep very well during her stay at the Bjorjmans, where Anna had been staying while their parents were on vacation. Okay, she didn't sleep at all.

When she saw light outside her guest bedroom window she figured it was as good a time as any to get up. She walked into the bathroom and grimaced at her appearance. Her makeup was smudged, and the workings of dark circles were forming under her eyes. She dug through her large bag, filled to the brim with her things that the police had given to her on her way out of the station. She took out her makeup and went to work, covering up any signs of tears or sleep deprivation, any trace of the night before. She pulled her pale blonde hair into a messy bun and slipped her creme sweater over her tank top, leaving on her black leggings from the night before.

Elsa put her things back in her bag, willing herself not to cry.

_Rapunzel wouldn't want you to cry. Nobody else cares if you cry anyways, so whats the point?_

Elsa hadn't cried since she was in middle school, when she was bullied relentlessly by her peers, giving her an inferiority complex. After middle school, Elsa vowed to never let any one see her cry again, and she developed a hard exterior, staying silent, refusing to be pushed over. Elsa hated to be mean sometimes, but you had to be mean to get what you want. According to Elsa, you had to be mean to be happy. That's what she told herself as tears threatened to spill over her eyes.

* * *

Anna and Elsa were currently seated in the Bjorjman family's living room. Kristoff's adopted family was in the kitchen, making a rather large breakfast.

"Are you sure you don't want to call mom and dad?" Anna was trying to comfort Elsa, rubbing her back, but Elsa scooted away from the contact, making Anna wince.

"No." Elsa sighed. "I don't want to bother them on their cruise." She said, her voice unwavering.

"Hey, uh. I'm sorry about Rapunzel and all, but," Kristoff approached her. "You didn't really mean it when you said I was fired, right?" He laughed a bit awkwardly.

"Kristoff!" Anna scolded.

"No, Kristoff. You aren't fired. But you and Merida are going to have to watch after the store for me. At least for today." She sighed.

Anna looked at Elsa in shock. She couldn't remember the last time her older sister had taken a day off. Even when Elsa had walking pneumonia for a week, she went to Arendelle & co. every day, ensuring things went smoothly. It was like that every day since their father gave her ownership of the store, and now her designs were featured in world famous magazines, and Elsa was making a name for herself. If anything, Anna expected Elsa to completely throw herself into her work.

Elsa's phone vibrated. She pulled it out and smiled at the lock screen; her and Rapunzel during Fashion Week several months earlier. She answered.

"Hello?"

"Miss Arendelle?" It was Flynn.

"Yes?"

"Good to know you made it through the night alive!" He laughed.

Elsa didn't.

Flynn coughed. "Um, anyways... Hans is here, and its best we get you two..." Flynn searched for the right word. "acquainted."

"Acquainted?" Elsa repeated.

_Do they just give their only employees all the power to do whatever they want? _Elsa thought. She idly wondered how the investigation was going.

"Yes." It was almost as if Flynn answered her thoughts, rather than her out-loud question.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Great!" Flynn hung up.

Elsa grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, putting her sunglasses on.

From Anna's point of view, Elsa looked like she walked straight out of a fashion magazine, what with her dark sunglasses, red lipstick, and steel composure, she hardly looked like she was suffering at all. She looked like she did most of the time; cold and collected.

"Oh, dear?" Bulda, Kristoff's mother, called to Elsa, entering the living room. "Aren't you going to stay for breakfast?" Her voice was sweet like sugar, her eyes shining in a motherly way.

"Mrs. Bjorjman, I'd love to, but I'm due at the police station in ten minutes. I have to begin being under the watch of a bodyguard until they find the killer."

"Aren't you hung- wait, a bodyguard?"

"Yes. Um," Elsa looked at her watch. "I'll have Anna explain it to you." She opened the door to leave. "Thank you so much for your hospitality." With that, she was gone.

Bulda's eyes filled with shock and horror as Anna explained to her the circumstances that Elsa was faced with.

"Oh my, how horrible! I do hope that they find them soon." She returned to the kitchen.

Anna was afraid to turn on the news, Kristoff said it would only upset her, but she did so anyways. The news report was almost the exact same as the night before, just a bit more new information that previously was not given. Anna turned it off, pulling her legs up on the couch, scooting into Kristoff's embrace.

Anna was angry to say the least. Just when they were beginning to become close again, just when Elsa was beginning to warm up, something of epic proportions had to happen to make her cold again. Maybe the universe just didn't want then to be close sisters. But no, Anna wouldn't believe that. She would do anything to be close to her sister, and she'd be dammed if she didn't do everything in her power to try and comfort her sister.

* * *

Anna allowed Elsa to use her car, considering she didn't feel very safe on the streets. Even though Elsa could afford a car at the moment, she saw it as a waste of an investment. Arendelle & co. was within walking distance from her apartment, and Elsa had never traveled very far without Rapunzel, so it really was a waste.

She arrived at the station and strolled in, her heels clicking rhythmically against the blue tile. The station was bustling, people pinning pictures and papers on a giant board, tapping phone calls, and questioning different people. Elsa was glad that they were doing their best to find clues, and hoped that justice would be brought soon.

She walked down the semi-familiar hallway and to the white door.

She knocked on Flynn's office door, putting her sunglasses in her purse.

There was a faint 'Come in.' from the other side.

She took a deep breath and opened the door.

"There she is!" Flynn winked at her.

Hans stood up from the chair he was in and turned around at the entrance of the person who he would be soon guarding.

Elsa's eyes widened as the man stood. He was tall; insanely tall. He was well built, not like Kristoff, but he definitely had some muscle. Elsa suddenly felt inferior as she realized even with her heels, he was still a large amount taller than her. She wasn't disappointed by his looks, he was no doubt handsome, but a bit intimidating.

The gentlemanly smile he had on his face faltered when he saw her. She was breathtaking, no doubt. But she looked small, and broken. When her eyes flickered to him she began to stand a bit taller, and look defiant, it was like she was putting on a mask.

Flynn smiled, one might say almost evilly.

"Elsa, this is Hans. Your bodyguard."

Elsa could tell by the way he shook her hand that he was strong, even though she could tell he was being gentle.

_I'm not a glass figurine. Christ._

Hans felt the need to shake her hand delicately, afraid she would crumble if he was too harsh.

"Please, take a seat." Flynn motioned to the seat in front of him. "We are here to discuss your schedule and how we can work with it." He pulled out a notebook. "We've already confirmed that Hans has no upcoming and recent engagements, correct?"

"Yes. I was invited to a wedding next Friday, but I'm not sure that I wish to attend." Hans had absolutely no interest in attending his oldest brother's wedding. He had absolutely no interest in anything relating to his family.

"Well," Flynn laughed. "Maybe you could take Elsa here as your date." He said, only half joking.

Hans and Elsa's eyes flickered to each other and back to Flynn, they did not look amused.

"Okay," Flynn became serious again. "Elsa, please tell me about your usual work schedule."

"Well," Elsa crossed her legs. "There really isn't a specific routine to it. On week days I go in to work any time between 7 and 9, and leave any time between 2 and 4 in the morning." She said it like it was nothing, like she hardly worked at all.

_What the hell? When does she sleep? That can't be healthy. _Hans though it strange how much she worked, considering she looked like she'd never worked a day in her life.

"Weekends are usually my designing days, so I never really know how long on Saturday and Sunday." She concluded.

Elsa's sleep schedule wasn't exactly what doctors would call 'healthy'. She would get a bit of sleep, maybe 3 or 4 hours, when she returned from work, and then carried out the rest of the day. She would often dose off at her desk, while cooking, really anywhere during the day. Some people even began to think she had narcolepsy.

"Okay then." Flynn jotted a few things down.

Elsa suddenly felt inferior again. She felt like people were judging her. Elsa poured herself into her work because it was what made her happy, and because she felt she had nothing else going for her. She wasn't as sociable or as athletic as Anna or her mother, or very likable in her opinion, so she threw herself into what she was good at.

"Alright." Flynn closed the notebook, and eyed Elsa. "Hans will escort you anywhere you like and go with you anywhere you please, and keep you within his eyesight. Where is your current state of residence?" He aksed.

_Whoa. Maybe he can be serious._

"I'm staying with my sister's boyfriend's family."

"The Bjorjmans?" Flynn had heard of them before.

"Yes."

"They are a rather..." He toyed with his pen. "_large_ family, aren't they?

"Well, yes."

"So do you think they would be uncomfortable having an extra guest?" He motioned to Hans.

"Um, I..." Elsa began to bite her nails. She hadn't thought of that before. They were already housing her sister, and it was crowded as it is. She hated being a bother. "I guess that would make them a bit uncomfortable."

"Well," Flynn smiled. "Hans has an apartment not too far away, with an extra bedroom, a car..." He began to sound like he was trying to entice Elsa to stay with Hans.

Hans didn't really mind looking after someone, or her staying at his apartment. He was almost finished with his online college studies, and Elsa didn't seem like as much of a spoiled brat he thought she would be.

"He would take you wherever you want, whenever you want, just as long as he has you in sight. So Miss Arendelle, what do you say?"

Elsa turned to Hans. "So you're completely okay with that?" Elsa didn't believe anybody would have the patience to look after her and work with her crazy schedule, it was why she had lost so many friends already.

Hans nodded. "It's my job, Miss."

_For a burly security guard, he's surprisingly a gentleman._

"Well, Elsa, do you have your things?" Flynn asked.

_Did you really just fucking ask me that? No, I don't have my things. This huge fucking bag beside me just holds all my traveling trinkets. Christ._

Elsa nodded.

"Alright then." Flynn waved at them in dismissal. "Go get settled."

Elsa and Hans swore they saw Flynn smile and laugh quietly before they exited the office.

As they made their way out of the station Hans opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when she pulled out her phone.

"Anna? You're car is still at the station. Yeah. You will? Okay. Love you. Bye."

Elsa put her phone back in her pocket and craned her neck to look up at Hans. "Would you please take me to Arendelle & co.?"

Hans nodded led her to his car, and opened the door for her to enter.

Elsa gaped at the largeness of his SUV, and attempted to climb into the seat, her short frame not helping her much. She was taken by surprise when she felt Hans's hands on her waist, hoisting her into the seat. She muttered a thank you and hid her now red face. She fastened her seat belt and made yet another call as Hans began to pull out of the parking lot.

"Merida? False alarm. I'm coming into work today. Make sure Kristoff doesn't touch anything! I'm expecting a call from Gothel, so no dozing off! Okay? Bye."

"Wow." Hans said, trying to relieve the tension. "Sounds like you run a tight ship." Hans mentally kicked himself after saying that.

_Good fucking job, Hans. _He told himself. _"Run a tight ship." What are you? A damn pirate?_

Elsa stayed quiet, not knowing an adequate response to that.

* * *

Gothel parked her red Ferrari in front of Arendelle & co. Taking off her gold sunglasses she smiled, giddy with joy. Word was that the neurotic blonde, Elsa, wouldn't be at the store today, mourning the loss of her partner. So now was the perfect time for Gothel to get what she needed.

When she entered Gothel almost laughed at the sleeping redhead at the counter. She figured that Elsa, of all people, would have hired more sophisticated employees, considering how popular Arendelle & co. was becoming.

She donned her leather gloves and ascended the glass stairs into the studio and found Rapunzel's desk, littered with designs and papers of different sorts. She grabbed every paper that she would need, and shoved them in her briefcase. These would be the designs for Gothel's 100th collection, to celebrate her 53rd birthday. Oh, this was going to be big. She couldn't help but smirk at how easy this was. There was only so much room that the fashion industry had, and Gothel planned to keep her prominent spot. Her eyes found Elsa's desk. She couldn't take _her_ designs just yet. After all, Elsa wasn't dead.

Yet.

* * *

As Elsa made to open the door, she found Hans opening it for her and he even held his hand out to assist her. Finding such an action so gentlemanly and romantic, she blushed and let out a small giggle, dispersing the tension in the air. He followed a few feet behind her as she entered the store.

The store was empty, after all, the shopping hours hadn't begun yet. Elsa quickly noticed the snoring coming from the counter, emitting from a bundle of red curls.

"Merida!" Elsa half-yelled half-shrieked.

Merida's head snapped up, her fiery curls a mess around her face. "Huh? What?" She wiped away stray hair that had gotten into her mouth.

Elsa tapped her foot, a look of annoyance and anger on her face. "Did anybody call?"

"No." Merida smiled, looking confident in herself. "Hey, who's the cutie?" The red-head began checking out the man standing a few feet behind Elsa. Hans blushed slightly.

Elsa felt a pang in her stomach, and she convinced herself that it was a far cry from jealousy. "This is Hans, my-er, body guard."

"_Oh_." Merida smirked, getting an evil idea. "Hey Hans, you might want to guard her gently, she hasn't been guarded in a long time, if you know what I mean." Merida wiggled her eyebrows and winked. "Actually, I don't think she's been guarded at all, but she could use a good-"

"That will do, Merida!" Elsa stomped her way up the glass stairs, Hans following not too far behind her.

"You're going to break those stairs one day!" Merida yelled.

Elsa smelt the familiar air of the studio. It smelt like coffee, fabric, and Rapunzel's favorite perfume. Kristoff was watching TV on the velvet couch on the other side of the room.

"I can't believe I pay him to just sit around and be annoying." Elsa muttered. She walked past Rapunzel's silver desk, which still had many papers, and a dirty tumbler on it. She convinced herself that she would clean it later, but she just didn't have the courage at the moment.

Hans sat next to Kristoff on the velvet couch, and they began to quietly chit chat about guy things, at least Elsa thought that's what they were talking about. She began typing away on her computer, making appointments with other designers and managing A&C's finances. After she was done with that she went to work on her current designs, for her upcoming line 'Snow Queen'. Elsa admired the first sketch greatly and allowed herself to begin fitting it on the mannequin. It was a dark, blue velvet dress that was long sleeved and floor length cut, fanning out at the bottom. After her sketch and a photo of a prototype had been leaked on the internet, celebrities were offering to pay her insane amounts of money to wear the dress to the next big awards show.

Hours slipped away and Hans had grown bored of trying to hold Kristoff's interest. Hans was used to boredom however, considering it was his job to stay silent and watch. His eyes flickered to Elsa, who looked like she hadn't moved an inch in the last two hours, while she scribbled on different sheets of papers. He thought it funny how she would mutter profanities before she answered the phone, trying to maintain a polite composure.

Elsa was quite a sight to see; her phone held to her ear by her shoulder, one hand typing away at the computer, and the other jotting down different things in a sheet of paper. He idly noted that she was ambidextrous. He found it impressive that this 19-year-old was running this company all herself. Granted she had previously had the help of a friend, but it was still mighty impressive.

Once Elsa had finished her phone call she groaned and slammed her head on her desk. She dreaded the day when she would have to attend Gothel's 53rd birthday celebration, where she would showcase her 100th collection, aka the biggest fashion event to come this year. It had always been Rapunzel's job to socialize with guests at such events and ensure that A&C had a good reputation. Elsa had preferred to stay away from the parties, and watch from the sidelines, ensuring that things went smoothly silently. Now that she didn't have the luxury of her best friend she would have to be front and center and, she shuddered at the thought, _socializing._

It wasn't that she was bad at socializing, she was rather good at twisting words and persuading people, but it made her so nervous. She would start twitching, biting her nails, basically go into nervous breakdowns.

Kristoff had offered to go and get Hans and Elsa some food, and got Elsa something despite her protests that she wasn't hungry.

Elsa munched on her fries as she worked away on her mannequin, her eyes continuing to flicker to Punzie's desk.

Hans noticed that Elsa was no longer looking at the desk in sadness, but in confusion.

She walked to the silver-pink desk, her hands lightly ghosting over the different papers that lay there. "That's strange..." Elsa whispered. "Her last designs should be right here... I don't think she took them home." Now she was talking to herself.

She knew without a doubt that Punzie's designs should be right on the desk, nothing else seemed touched or out of place.

Elsa didn't get much more time to ponder before her phone rang. She pressed speaker and went back to work on her mannequin.

"Elsa?" It was Anna.

"Yes?" Elsa put another fry in her mouth.

"Is the body guard cute?" You could hear the smile in Anna's voice.

Kristoff started laughing, Elsa choked on her fry, and Hans tried to hide a smile.

"Anna! You're on speaker!" Elsa's face turned red.

"Oh, okay!" Anna's voice lowered. "Is he?" Elsa sighed and walked down stairs with her phone.

Hans stood up to follow a few feet behind her but was stopped by Kristoff.

"Dude. Chill. Thee's, like, a million customers down there, she's fine."

"Kristoff!" Merida yelled up the stairs.

"What!?" He yelled back, equally loud.

"I need you to deal with some of these customers." She said, exasperated.

"That's not in my job description."

"Your job doesn't have a description!"

Elsa resurface into the studio. "Kristoff, go help Merida." He groaned and followed the red head down the stairs and into the sea of snooty, high class shoppers.

She returned to her mannequin, her inspiration lost. She figured she'd call Flynn to see how the investigation was doing.

"Hey Flynn."

"Hey hey hey! Its the snow queen of all people!"

"Don't call me that. I just wanted to know how the investigation is doing."

"Oh. Well, we've narrowed it down definitely to someone who's in the fashion world. Someone who would do anything to stay on top, or rise from the bottom. Its difficult because they leave no trace. And we're not even certain whoever planned this killed them their selves, they could have hired somebody do do it for them."

Elsa shuddered at the thought of someone being paid to kill another human being. "Thank you, Flynn. Just, please keep me updated."

"Will do." With that, he hung up.

* * *

**(A/N: Sorry to end the chapter right there! Thanks for the reviews! It means a lot!)**


	3. Chapter 3

"So, have you always worked at A&C?" Hans asked Elsa, as they were driving to his apartment.

"Pretty much. Ever since I was a little girl, I practically lived in that store." Elsa laughed. "What about you?"

"Same, ever since I was sixteen I worked as a security guard."

Elsa felt bold to make conversation, refusing to live with someone in awkward silence for a week or more. "Who's the worst person you've had to guard?"

Hans looked thoughtful. "An octopus." Elsa stayed silent.

_Is that a joke? Is it code for something? Or did he really mean octopus? _This was a prime example of Elsa getting nervous in a social situation.

"...Seriously?" Elsa finally said.

"Yes!" Hans looked at her. "That was my job, ten hours at a time. I made sure that nobody touched the octopus, that the octopus didn't ink on anybody, and that is the job where I literally went crazy."

Elsa laughed. "Ten hours at a time?"

"Yeah, one time, I literally counted to a billion. I actually went nuts." He pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building. Elsa noted how nice the apartments were.

She was convinced she would be able to get out of the car on her own this time, even though it was nearly pitch black outside. She succeeded, sort of. She almost fell but quickly composed herself. Hans grabbed her bag from the back seat and led her up the stairs to the top floor.

Hans turned the key in the door and opened it, allowing Elsa to go first. It was not at all what Elsa expected. It was large, and nice, no doubt, but it hardly looked lived in. It seemed kind of... empty.

As he led her to her room she noticed that there were no pictures of family or friends. None at all.

"So.." Elsa began. "How long have you lived here?"

"Two years." He said, opening the door.

Elsa decided not to press the subject any further. The room looked pretty empty besides a bed, dresser, and full-length mirror.

"It's connected to a bathroom." Hans stood in the doorway as Elsa set her bag on the bed.

"Than-" Elsa was cut short when something hairy and smelly tackled her to the ground, licking her face as well.

"Sitron! Down!" Hans yelled, removing the very large golden retriever from Elsa.

Elsa wiped her face. "I wasn't aware that you-" She coughed. "had a dog."

"Is that a problem?" Hans asked sincerely. "You aren't allergic, are you?"

"No." Elsa said quietly, sitting on the bed and pulling her legs up "I've just, not had very good experience with dogs."

"Well, Sitron is a good dog and she'll behave. She just likes you." Hans loosened his restraint on the golden dog, who padded up to Elsa, sniffing the blonde's feet. Elsa giggled and gently put her hand out, which Sitron smelt and began licking. Hans smiled at the sight

"Tell me if you need anything."

"Okay." Elsa smiled as Hans closed the doors. She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. It was three in the morning, a normal time for her to come home, but she assumed not for Hans. She felt guilty that she had made him stay up that late. Which was confusing to Elsa because she never felt all that guilty forcing Kristoff or Merida to work late. She shrugged her shoulders and changed into a comfy pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt before scooting under the large white comforter, letting sleep come over her, she barely felt Sitron snuggle up into her side.

* * *

Hans walked to the kitchen to make himself a midnight, or rather 3 am, snack. He opened the fridge and mentally kicked himself at the realization he had no food.

_God-fucking-dammit. _Hans resisted the urge to kick the refrigerator. He looked down the hall to where Elsa's room was located. He didn't want to wake her, but there was no chance he was leaving her alone. He realized he would have to wake her up. He'd rather her be tired than hungry.

He walked over to the door and knocked. No response. He creaked the door open, to see her bundled under the covers, snoring softly. Sitron was curled into the blonde's side, keeping her guarded.

_Awww. _Now he really didn't want to wake her.

"Elsa?" The snoring slightly got louder. He resisted the urge to laugh. He walked closer and lightly shook her shoulders. She only rolled over.

"Yes, Anna. I wanna build a snowman." She lightly muttered, still asleep.

Hans laughed and shook a bit harder, there was only a split second between Hans shaking her and Elsa's hand flying up, effectively slapping his face.

"Jesus Christ." He mumbled. It didn't hurt him very much per say, but she did startle him.

"Huh, what? What's going on?"

"Put your shoes on." Hans said, flicking the light switch on.

"Why?" Elsa half-whined as she made a pout, resisting the urge to bury herself back in the covers' warm embrace. Elsa was only like this when she first woke up, she would rather have non-interrupted sleep or just not sleep at all.

"I have to go grocery shopping, and I'm not leaving you here alone."

Elsa got out of bed albeit angrily and went for her clothes. He grabbed her arm.

"C'mon its almost 4 am, just come in your pajamas. The sooner we get back, the sooner you can go back to sleep." Elsa stuck her tongue out and yanked her arm away, putting on her only non-heels, her slippers.

Hans chuckled at how childish she was when her sleep was interrupted, he actually liked seeing her very mature composer slip away.

Elsa followed Hans out the door, hating that now she was even more short compared to him. He knew that she was walking slowly purely to annoy him, and he smiled at her childishness. As much as Elsa hated to admit it, when she was grumpy or anything like that, she was as immature as Anna. Not that it was surprising, Elsa now officially hadn't slept in two days.

* * *

Once they were inside the near empty store, Hans had grown tired of Elsa's attempts to annoy him and literally picked her up and sat her in the buggy, which Elsa didn't seem to mind. The old lady at the register smiled, seeing Hans push Elsa around the isles in the cart, it reminded her of her days when she was young and in love.

Hans had gotten an array of frozen pizza, hot pockets, pop tarts, soda, mainly things of that nature. They were now going through the isle that held all of the baking ingredients and supplies. Hans stared thoughtfully at the cake mixes.

"You know, I've never made a cake." He quietly mentioned.

Elsa head snapped up. "You haven't?!"

Hans was startled by her sudden movement. "Is that a bad thing...?"

"Uh, yeah!" It was always Elsa's family's tradition to make cakes whenever a special occasion or holiday came along, it was one of her favorite things to do, besides building a snowman, of course. "This is unacceptable." She stood up in the cart. "What flavor do you like?"

_Please say chocolate, please say chocolate._

"Vanilla."

_Goddammit. _Elsa grabbed the vanilla cake mix. "Icing?"

"Strawberry." Hans answered. "Now sit down before you hurt yourself."

* * *

It was now 5 am, and neither Hans nor Elsa had gotten a wink of sleep. They had opted for haphazardly making a cake in the kitchen. Hans set the plate of cake in front of Elsa, wishing for her to try it first.

Elsa slid the fork through the thick layer of strawberry pink icing, her eyes narrowing at the fact that the cake was vanilla, not chocolate. "Here goes," she muttered, shoveling a large bite into her mouth. Before she'd even swallowed, her stomach lurched in protest. The fork nearly dropped from her hand in her hurry to be rid of it, and she grabbed the glass of milk to wash away any hint of the sickly sweet confection. "That is going to kill someone," she finally said, as Hans waited for her judgement.

"Thank you?" Hans replied uncertainly.

"I did not mean that in a good way." She pushed the plate away from her. "It's too sweet." Her faced scrunched in disgust. "That thing is death by sugar."

"Says the girl who ate three chocolate bars in one sitting!" Hans referred to her choice of snack earlier as he yanked the plate away from the table.

"There's a difference between rich and sweet." Elsa put her nose in the air.

Hans eyed her. "No there isn't." He shook his head.

"Yes! There is!"

"I don't think so." Hans was purely trying to make her angry, and smiling to himself as he dumped the cake in the trash.

Elsa stood up, determined. She walked to her room and scrounged around her things until she found it.

_Ah ha! _She smiled in victory. _My pocket dictionary!_

Elsa flipped through the pages until she gathered the information she needed. She convinced herself that this wasn't childish, she just loved to be right.

Hans laughed as Elsa emerged from her room, a dictionary in her hand. She stood across from him and pointed her finger to a word on a page.

"Rich: Containing a large amount of fat, spices, sugar, etc." She flipped a few pages. Hans continued to laugh.

"Sweet: Having the taste characteristics of sugar." She slammed the dictionary shut and threw it on the coffee table. "Leave the cake making to me next time."

Hans smirked. "You may have got me there," He stood and circled her in a way that resembled a vulture. "but I still know your weakness."

Elsa crossed her arms. "Oh really?"

"Mmhmm. Kristoff told me."

"Kristoff doesn't know anything about me!" Elsa crossed her arms.

"So, you're saying your not ticklish?"

Elsa's face turned red and her voice raised a few octaves. "No! I'm not."

There was a moment of silence before Elsa darted to run, and Hans caught her wrist.

Soon they were engrossed in a tickle fight on the couch, Elsa shrieking, and tears nearly coming to her eyes, even though she was actually having fun. They were so engrossed in their tickle fight/wresting match and laughing loudly that they didn't hear when someone knocked several times.

Flynn had grown impatient of knocking on the door when there were clearly awake people inside the apartment. He opened the door and was shocked yet laughing at what he saw. Hans and Elsa stared at the door, wide-eyed. They were in a very-erm, compromising position.

"Wow, guys. I said get acquainted not _acquainted_."

The pair quickly untangled themselves. Elsa's face was beet red. "It's not what it looks like!"

Flynn rolled his eyes. "I know that, you're much too frigid."

"Exactl- wait, frigid?!" Elsa's voice cracked.

Flynn plugged his ears. "Try not to break any glass, okay?" He joked. He shoved a large bag in her arms.

"What's this?" Whatever it was, it was heavy.

"It's the rest of your stuff." He said, waving a hand carelessly. "Oh! And I have some news on the investigation."

"Really?! Elsa dropped the bag. "What is it?"

Flynn sat on the recliner as Hans and Elsa sat on the couch, ready to listen intently. "We know who killed Rapunzel."

Elsa was not expecting a blunt answer like that. She opened her mouth, most likely to shriek something. Flynn put a hand up. "Please hold all your questions until the end." He continued. "She was killed by these twins, the Stabbington Brothers. But, they did not plan the murder, they were paid to do it. However they are refusing to talk unless we offer a generous deal. So until then, only they know who is truly behind it."

Elsa grit her teeth. _Let me talk to them. They'll be begging to give answers once I'm done with them. _

"So, we're currently bargaining with them, but just because they've been captured doesn't mean whoever planned it will stop trying to hurt you." Elsa unconsciously scooted a bit closer to Hans. "Just thought I'd let you know." Flynn got up. "Its late, Elsa. Take it easy. Maybe take a day off work, calm down, relax, go on a date with Hans." He said the last part very quietly, it almost didn't reach Elsa's ears.

"What?" Elsa questioned.

"What?" Flynn repeated. He smiled, making his way out the door. "You two have fun!" He winked at them before leaving.

The pair looked at each other and laughed, before settling into the couch and turning the TV on. It was some mindless sitcom, but Elsa hardly payed attention. She hadn't slept in two days, and was extremely tired. All she knew was that one minute the laugh track from the TV was filling her ears and the next she was asleep, and very warm, warmer than she was under the comforter in her bed down the hall.

Hans attention was no longer on the television, but rather on the girl, curled up and snoring on his lap. She had started out merely sitting next to him, and as she began to doze off she leaned on his shoulder, and now she was sleeping comfortable on his lap, against his stomach.

* * *

Elsa yawned and tried to stretch her limbs, only to realize she couldn't. Her eyes opened as she realized that a very heavy weight was on her back, which happened to be Hans arm. She was lying on top of him on the couch, curled up with her head against his chest. Elsa smiled slightly, but then it disappeared.

_Wow Elsa. _She told herself. _You yell at Anna for taking things too fast and here you are cuddling with someone you've known a day. _She looked at the clock. It was 2 pm. Elsa couldn't remember the last time she had slept in so long in one sitting. Elsa wiggled, attempting to slip out of Hans's embrace, successfully stirring him from sleep. Elsa ended up flailing, and falling off of Hans and to the carpet below.

"Elsa?" Hans sleepily asked. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, you know." She said, her voice muffled by the carpet. "Just chilling." She pulled herself up.

_God I hate myself sometimes._

"What time is it?" Hans asked, sitting up.

"It's around two." There was a bit of awkward silence before Hans's phone rang. He raised his eyebrows at who it was, "Excuse me for a moment." Hans stepped outside to the balcony to answer the phone call.

* * *

"Grilled cheese." Anna said drunkenly.

"What?" Kristoff asked, carrying the redhead upstairs to her guest bedroom.

"Grill me a cheese." Anna whined.

"I'm not grilling you a cheese." Kristoff said, smelling the alcohol on her breath. "I don't know who gave you alcohol, but you're officially sworn of it. Forever."

Anna began sobbing. "I just want a grilled cheese."

Kristofff half-sighed-half-groaned. "I'll make you a grilled cheese."

"Yay!" Anna slurred.

_Elsa is going to kill me. _Kristoff thought as he turned back around to the kitchen. _No. She's going to do more than kill me. I let her sixteen-year-old baby sister get drunk under my watch. __She's going to fire me and make sure that I live a long, insufferable, tortuous life._

* * *

Elsa sat on the couch watching cartoons, trying to ignore the yelling coming from the balcony.

_Jesus Christ who is he talking to?_

Elsa sat awkwardly as Hans returned from the balcony, obviously angry. He was more than angry, he was seething. His mother had just guilt tripped him into attending his oldest brother's wedding. He returned from down the hall a few minutes later. Elsa was convinced that he had punched a wall.

"Elsa?" Hans sat across from her on the opposite couch. "You know how you have that big fashion event thing coming up? And you're self conscious about not having a date?"

"How'd you know about that?!" Elsa asked.

"Kristoff. Anyways, that's not the point. If you come with me as my date to a wedding, I'll go with you to your event as a date instead of a body guard."

Elsa was surprised at how blunt he was. This had to be the weirdest way she was ever asked out. If he was technically asking her out.

"Umm. Okay." Hans smiled victoriously. "But," Elsa began. Hans smile fell. "when is it?"

"Thursday. Three days from now."

"Okay. Gothel's event is on Friday. Do you have a tux?"

"No."

"Well, looks like we're going shopping."

"Shopping?" Hans repeated.

"Yes." Elsa stood up. "Get dressed. If I can't be at work you can be damn sure I'll be doing something fashion related. I'll even pay for the tux."

"You don't have t-"

"Shhh. Nonsense. It would be my pleasure." Elsa stood up and began pacing. "Let's see, I have what I'll be wearing to Gothel's event, but I need to get a dress appropriate for a wedding. What you'll need to wear to the event won't be a tux, a suit, but not a tux. I'll pay for both."

Hans laughed at Elsa's pacing and how she was talking to herself. He thought it was adorable. She turned around to him.

"Well, what are you waiting for! Get dressed!"

Elsa made her way to her room to get ready, Hans chuckled. After all, how difficult can shopping be?

* * *

**(A/N: Hans is in for one hell of a ride. Thanks again for the reviews!)**


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